Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Two days of hope...

(Kindly read the previous post before reading this one)

...it was his uncle, I explained everything to him and when he talked to the kid it felt like we have achieved something.Only a few words exchanged and the kid got emotional and so were all of us (somehow I held back my tears). I just hugged the kid..

Next day me and F went to meet the kid's family (his Mother and Uncle). We met the person in-charge for custody transfer, this really sweet lady, who told us about all the legal procedures to be followed to get the custody of the Kid (Its a very cumbersome process)

We heard the entire story about how the kid landed in this place, how he was taken from his home town (or he left??) by this hotel manager in whose hotel he worked for 2 months and then fled away one day to be caught by some NGO who bought him to this place. Also we came to know that this will be filed as a case of Child Labor and hence will take lot of time unless the accused is produced before the committee. Then we met the superintendent of the center, he was really frank about everything and did not minced his words. He told us about all the horrific things some children have to go through and how bad the world really is (even the parents and relatives).

Then came the difficult task, to convince the hotel manager to appear in front of the committee. F and me went to the hotel, but manager was not there. We took the number and called him, he asked us to wait. As we were waiting we decided upon what to say to him, what can be the best strategy to convince him.When he arrived, I was shocked, he was this innocent looking old man with a pleasant smile (I imagined him to be some tough guy with villainous looks). F did all the talking as he knew the local language (I so hated myself for not knowing it) and somehow he convinced the old man (Hats off to you man!!). Destiny??

Next morning I woke up early , probably first time on a Monday. I went to office early to put some hours before the hearing. At 10:30 I collected the verification documents which came in fax and went to the hearing. Hotel manager was true to his word, he came and was scolded and threatened (of Police case) by the committee judge. We met the judge and requested him for quick reunion between the family and the kid..and then we left with our fingers crossed.The kid called me when he boarded the bus home. I gave him some pep talk and he promised that he won't get into trouble anymore.

In two days everything changed for the kid and his family.

I wanted to see him one more time, but I guess it was his destiny and my part in it was over...